Indications have emerged that the Federal Government has dropped the 9-3- 4 system of education. This educational system took stakeholders over three years to plan and work out its implementation strategy.
The system, which purportedly kicked off in 2009, had the components of basic, technical and vocational inputs, which pupils were expected to complete in the first nine years before proceeding on a career path in the next three years of secondary education.Education Minister, Prof. Uqayyatu Rufa'i, last Tuesday, proposed to the National Assembly (NASS), the need to revert to the old system of 6-3-3-4, but with a modification that would include Early Childhood Education (ECE).
The new system, according to her, was sequel to the recommendations of the Presidential Task Team on Education, which President Goodluck Jonathan has already approved.
Rufa'i said the new system would now be known as 1-6- 3-3-4, signifying that the first one year of education would be for a child of five years.
The six-year component would be for primary education, while the other three, three and four years would be for junior and senior secondary and tertiary, respectively.
'A more current National Policy on Education that captures all the sectorial policies, vis-a-vis, gender, ECE, ICT, HIV and AIDS and the new policies arising from the fallout of the Presidential Task Team on Education recommendations, are some of the tasks ahead,' the minister said.
She said the best way to manage the Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs), must be sought out without losing the vision of the forefathers who established them.
She said all these issues, and many others, need proper articulation for implementation, saying that the activities of the National Teachers' Institute (NTI) Kaduna would be refocused for practicing teachers to maximise their re-training benefits.
A 30-man committee, with renowned educationist, Pai Ubanya as technical adviser and the minister as chairperson, to ensure the implementation of the new system of education, was on Tuesday set up in Abuja.
The committee is expected to among other things, update the National Policy on Education (NPE) and amend all outdated laws of the Ministry of Education.
It would also re-structure the functions of the ministry, its departments, with specific attention to ensuring that only professionals were heads of departments and parastatals.
Other areas which the committee is expected to work include expansion of the Universal Basic Education Commission's mandate to cover secondary education, amend the UBEC Act to incorporate all levels of pre tertiary education.
Sequel to this, the committee would also address the problems of Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs), relocate them under the management of UBEC, but this would only take place after the amendment of the UBEC Act.
Rufa'i said the main function of this committee is to propose modalities for the smooth actualisation of the PTTE recommendations, saying that its membership of the committee was based on the need to have tested and trusted individuals who could deliver
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